FPGA based Embedded System to control an electric vehicle and the driver assistance systems

This Master Thesis involves the development of an embedded system based on FPGA for controlling an electric vehicle based on a Kart platform and its electronic driving aids. It consists of two distinct stages in the process of hardware-software co-design, hardware development, which includes all the elements of the periphery of the processor and communication elements, all developed in VHDL. An important part of the hardware development also include the development of electronic driving aids, which include traction control and torque vectoring differential gear, in hardware coprocessors, also writen in VHDL. The other part of the co-design is the development of the control software, which is going to be executed by the embedded system’s processor. This Master Thesis will be used in a range of new electric vehicles that will be built in a near future and also gives the base for future thesis in the fields of automotive, electronics and computing

Synthesis of pyrrolo[1,2-<i>a</i>]indole-1,8(5<i>H</i>)-diones as new synthons for developing novel tricyclic compounds of pharmaceutical interest

In the course of our work aimed at developing novel heterocycles of pharmaceutical interest, a new tricycle, the tetrahydropyrrolo[1,2-a]indole-1,8-dione, has been synthesized by an intramolecular Friedel-Crafts acylation, as a synthon suitable to be functionalized to give novel compounds with potential biological properties. Also, an unusual nucleophilic α-addition to methyl propiolate by 1,5,6,7-tetrahydro-4H-indol-4-one was observed and discussed

Design: Episteme and Doxa. Co-design as an Opportunity to Share Choices

This paper delves into the concept of co-design, a collaborative approach involving stakeholders in the conceptualization and design phases to understand diverse perspectives and jointly define project directions. Examining the relationships between co-design, Design Thinking, and user-centred design, the paper emphasises distinctions in their goals and methods. It addresses potential biases in co-design processes, providing strategies to mitigate analogical relations, cognitive effort minimization, and emotional influences. Epistemological reflections highlight the efficacy of participatory methods in generating theoretical hypotheses while underscoring the need for evidence-based validation. The article explores co-design’s applications in speculative design and ludo-didactics (game design). In speculative design, co-design aids in framing problems and generating plausible contextualizations, while in game design, participatory processes, particularly playtesting, enhance the exploratory and refinement phases. The paper suggests avenues for further research, emphasising the strategic placement of Co-design processes in project phases, considering potential biases, and exploring its application in disruptive innovation contexts.Co-design, defined as “processes of creative participation” (Steen, 2013) is an approach that includes a group of stakeholders — “any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the achievement of the organisation’s objectives” (Freeman, 1984, p. 49) — during the conceptualization and design phase of a concept, artefact or service with the aim of understanding the needs of each people and jointly defining the direction of a project. The co-design activities are structured in such a way as to transform all the participants into design partners. People with different skills and operational levels will work together. Through a vo-design process they will be able to convey and align their ideas towards a common goal. The aim is that of defining some of the criteria that will affect the future development of the project

Transverse and lateral confinement effects on the oscillations of a free cylinder in a viscous flow

The different types of instabilities of free cylinders (diameter $D$, length $L$) have been studied in a viscous flow (velocity $U$) between parallel vertical walls of horizontal width $W$ at a distance $H$: the influence of the confinement parameters $D/H$ and $L/W$ has been investigated. As $D/H$ increases, there is a transition from stable flow to oscillations transverse to the walls and then to a fluttering motion with oscillations of the angle of the axis with respect to the horizontal. The two types of oscillations may be superimposed in the transition domain. The frequency $f$ of the transverse oscillations is independent of the lateral confinement $L/W$ in the range: 0.055 \le L/W \le 0.94$for a given cylinder velocity$V_{cx}$and increases only weakly with$V_{cx}$. These results are accounted for by assuming a 2D local flow over the cylinder with a characteristic velocity independent of$L/W$for a given$V_{cx}$value. The experimental values of$f$are also independent of the transverse confinement$D/H$. The frequency$f_f$of the fluttering motion is significantly lower than$f$:$f_f$is also nearly independent of the cylinder diameter and of the flow velocity but decreases significantly as$L/W$ increases. The fluttering instability is then rather a 3D phenomenon involving the full length of the cylinder and the clearance between its ends and the side walls

Exact and heuristic allocation of multi-kernel applications to multi-FPGA platforms

FPGA-based accelerators demonstrated high energy efficiency compared to GPUs and CPUs. However, single FPGA designs may not achieve sufficient task parallelism. In this work, we optimize the mapping of high-performance multi-kernel applications, like Convolutional Neural Networks, to multi-FPGA platforms. First, we formulate the system level optimization problem, choosing within a huge design space the parallelism and number of compute units for each kernel in the pipeline. Then we solve it using a combination of Geometric Programming, producing the optimum performance solution given resource and DRAM bandwidth constraints, and a heuristic allocator of the compute units on the FPGA cluster.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Extremely Metal-Poor Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars

Little is known about the first stars, but hints on this stellar population can be derived from the peculiar chemical composition of the most metal-poor objects in the Milky Way and in resolved stellar populations of nearby galaxies. In this paper, we review the evolution and nucleosynthesis of metal-poor and extremely metal-poor (EMP) stars with low and intermediate masses. In particular, new models of 6 M⊙ with three different levels of metallicity, namely Z=10−4, 10−6 and 10−10, are presented. In addition, we illustrate the results obtained for a 2 M⊙, Z=10−5 model. All these models have been computed by means of the latest version of the FuNS code. We adopted a fully coupled scheme of solutions for the complete set of differential equations describing the evolution of the physical structure and the chemical abundances, as modified by nuclear processes and convective mixing. The scarcity of CNO in the material from which these stars formed significantly affects their evolution, their final fate and their contribution to the chemical pollution of the ISM in primordial galaxies. We show the potential of these models for the interpretation of the composition of EMP stars, with particular emphasis on CEMP stars

Savings, fertility and public policy in an OLG small open economy

In an OLG model of a small open economy we analyse the characteristics of saving and fertility under two different public policies: i) constant per capita taxes (and endogenous public debt) and ii) constant per-capita debt (and endogenous stabilizing taxes). Our analysis highlights that a fertility recovery (reduction resp.) requires always a reduction (increase resp.) of taxes, although the implications for public debt management are not trivial, since they depend on the regime the economy is experiencing, i.e. on the relationship between the interest rate and the fertility rate in absence of taxes